The kitchen is the heart of the home. There will never be a day in your life when you don't enter the kitchen for some reason. It is where groceries go in and delicious pizzas and finger licking butter chicken comes out. The kitchen is where the children first learn to be of some service. It's also where you hone your cooking skills by trying new recipes.

The design of the modern kitchen has created an evolution in function that has made the kitchen a place of entertainment. An open kitchen is a place for socializing and hanging out with friends and families. This helps families spend more time together. You can keep an eye on your daughter while you cook. Your spouse can perch herself on the counter and regale you with tales from her workplace, you can share a bottle of wine with your friends as you cook.

Being such an important part of the home, it's important that home sellers make the kitchen attractive to prospective buyers. Here are some home staging tips to make your kitchen spark more attention from prospective buyers.

You want to make your kitchen radiate a fresh 'feel'. Buyers should want to stay a while longer in your kitchen. Although the process of staging your kitchen may warrant a few inconveniences, it's usually worth it because an attractive kitchen will sell your home faster than any other thing you do to prepare your home.

1. Make it sparkling clean. Obviously, buyers won't be able to imagine themselves in your home if your home has a dirty kitchen. The neater your kitchen looks, the better. From kitchen windows, to rugs, to stoves and dishes, make sure that everything shines. Hiring a professional cleaning company might be worth the cost.

2. Apply fresh paint. A quick and easy way to make your kitchen appear fresh is putting fresh paint on walls. Let the colors used complement colors of cabinets and drawers to bring out cohesiveness.

3. Use energy efficient lighting. Another relatively inexpensive tweak to make your kitchen feel fresh and new is updating lighting with energy efficient and bright ones.

4. Update kitchen hardware. Buyers love a kitchen with updated fixtures. Don't leave your kitchen with old kitchen faucets and outdated lighting fixtures. Inexpensive, simple updates like garbage disposal, stainless steel appliances, faucets and cabinet hardware can make your kitchen appear new and attractive to prospective buyers. You can also go a step further by adding some pizazz to your countertops. You can put in decorative canisters, herbs, bowl of fruit, new cookbooks and new tea towels, etc.

5. Declutter. Decluttering may be the hardest part of staging a kitchen for sale. Your kitchen should no longer reflect you, but it should give potential buyers a chance to use their imagination. The easiest way to start the process of decluttering is to completely clear off your counters, then only put selected decorative items to fill in and soften the corners of a long expanse of countertop.

An ugly kitchen can make the home sit on the market for long. Staging your kitchen right might require some effort and inconvenience but if the property is priced right and looks fantastic, you should only have to be inconvenienced a very short time.

With delightful sights and enticing cuisine, it's no wonder France is at the top of the list for many tourists. And not only tourists, people who are banking on profiting from these fascinations are snapping up properties fast too. France also boasts collections from masters of both modern and contemporary art.

However, if you're looking to buy a home in France as a foreign investor, don't be distracted by the sights. It's easy to be carried away by the beaches of Riveira, wandering through the battlefields of Normandy or viewing castles along the French countryside. You will need to focus your efforts on getting the deal done right. Let’s consider some stats on French property prices.

Facts about property prices in France

Prices are competitive and mortgage rates are currently low in France, according to Notaires de France. In the past year, over 900,000 properties have changed hands. Even though a surprisingly large number of these properties (90%) were bought by people looking to live in, rather than let. For investors, this means there hasn't been a property bubble and this might just be the right time to buy a house in France. Price is increasing steadily. Notaires de France estimated a year on year increase of 1.2% in property prices by August of this year and a jump of 4% in property prices by the end of the year.

What to know when buying property in France

Although the process of buying property in France is fairly straightforward, here are some things you need to know:

1. You're not required to hire a solicitor. As a general rule, buying property in France must proceed without an advocator or solicitor. It can't be delegated. So you have to travel and spend time and effort on acquiring the property.  Although property buying and land registration in France are secure, you need to have your wits about you.

2. You should learn French. If buying a house in France, you should know French or at least hire a translator. Trying to infer what the other person is saying will only give you a false sense of security. On the other hand, a knowledge of the language will bolster your confidence.

3. The notaire will not verify everything. The notaire may not be able to tell you if the property would give good ROI or what liens are currently on the property. There is room for you to do your own research about the property and about prices in that neighborhood. It's also advisable to get a specialist property lawyer.

4. Estate agents mostly act for the seller. Take care to read through any written offer. Make sure that the content of the offer are subject to a written sales and purchase offer. Also make sure you read through the content of the sales and purchase offer prepared by the agent to ensure equity. As with buying property anywhere, take your time before signing on the dotted line.

5. Local mortgages can be favorable. You might want to consider buying with a French mortgage as mortgages in France are relatively cheap. If you'll be seeking a mortgage, it's important you throw in a conditional clause in the sale contract.

In conclusion, having your own notaire is advisable. Don't expect the notaire working for both seller and buyer to seek your best interest.

Despite the ease of access created by the internet, buying a home is still a complicated process. You need third part assistance when making this very important financial transaction. Navigating the complexities of home buying or selling can be especially tough if you're going at it for the first time. While we do not dispute the fact that you can buy or sell your home yourself. Facts reveal that buying or selling a home through a real estate agent would net you more money.

For sellers, 4% of the sales price is charged for real estate agent services. This might be thousands of dollars that you would otherwise count as profit. Statistics however reveal that going it alone can cost you more in profits. The average FSBO seller makes $40,000 lesser in profit than an agent-assisted seller.

When you hire an agent, you're paying for expertise and information. Real estate agents have an exclusive database, the Multiple Listing service (MLS), which shows them how the prices of properties have changed over time. As a buyer, you might be paying more for a house that you feel attracted to. Without an agent, you might be buying a house that will turn out to be a money pit and paying more than you should for it. Experience, access to the MLS, knowledge of the marketplace makes agents invaluable to new buyers and sellers. Still not convinced? Look at these 3 ways buying or selling real estate on your own will cost you more.

1. Shortened range. If you’re going on your own as a seller, buyers with agents might not want to work with you, which limits your reach. Having a real estate agent creates a sense of convenience. The real estate agent's job is to act as liaison between the seller and the buyer. When one party has an agent, the other does not, the party with extra help has the upper hand, since the agent is working in his or her best interest. Also, buyers looking for homes will have a shortened range. Apart from the MLS access, an agent has connections with other agents and can easily match home buyers with a wide range of houses that meet their tastes. A real estate agent will track down homes that meet your criteria; get in touch with seller's agents in charge and make appointments for you to view the homes. You have to play this tag yourself if you're buying on your own.

2. Slip ups. An agent's job sells or buys houses full time. A seller looking to sell on his own probably has a job and cannot be 100% committed to the business of home selling, which does require much work. You have to answer calls from interested parties, answer questions and make appointments. There could be occasional slip ups, which will cost you money. Note that potential buyers are likely to move on if you tend to be busy or don't respond quickly enough.

3. Tricky negotiations. Buyers and sellers do not always have an easy relationship as each is looking for their own best interests. As a buyer, you might not know how well to express the fact that you find the wood-paneled walls and shag carpet contemptible. Your real estate agent can express your concerns to the seller's agent. Acting as a messenger, he would likely be in a better position to negotiate a discount without ruffling the homeowner's feathers.

Buying or selling a home is not a straightforward task, buyers and sellers want to niggle about price, contracts are hard to handle, mortgage issues might crop up. A professional real estate agent can help you achieve a smooth transaction while saving you money in the home deal.